Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)

A young man steals a boat to find his brother, but he and his shipmates become shipwrecked on a mysterious island inhabited by a giant sea monster and a slumbering Godzilla.

Director:

Jun Fukuda

Writer:

Shin'ichi Sekizawa

Stars:

Akira Takarada, Kumi Mizuno, Chôtarô Tôgin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Akira Takarada	...	Yoshimura
Kumi Mizuno	...	Daiyo
Chôtarô Tôgin	...	Ichino
Hideo Sunazuka	...	Nita
Tôru Ibuki	...	Yata Kane
Akihiko Hirata	...	Captain Yamoto
Jun Tazaki	...	Red Bamboo Commander
Tôru Watanabe	...	Ryôta Kane
Ikio Sawamura	...	Elderly Slave
Pair Bambi	...	Mothra's Little Beauties
Hideyo Amamoto	...	Red Bamboo Naval Officer
Hisaya Itô	...	Red Bamboo Scientist #1
Tadashi Okabe	...	Red Bamboo Scientist #2
Kazuo Suzuki	...	Escaped Slave
Shôichi Hirose	...	Escaped Slave

Storyline

Some teenagers want to obtain a boat to find a brother. When they look around a boat without permission, they find a thief who takes them on his escape. They are caught in a storm and arrive at Letchi Island where natives of Infant Island have been enslaved by the terrorist organisation Red Bamboo. Red Bamboo runs a heavy water factory to process a juice which holds off the monster, Ebirah, which otherwise traps them on the island. The young men meet beautiful but tough Daiyo and wake up Godzilla to put an end to the Red Bamboo.

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Plot Keywords:

godzilla character | psychotronic film | mothra character | island | boat | 

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Taglines:

This is one lobster you don't want to order!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sci-fi monster violence

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Godzilla, Mothra, and Ebira, Horror of the Deep

Box Office

Budget:

$1,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Noriko Takahashi originally started the role of Dayo, but when filming began she suffered from acute appendicitis and was hospitalized. Kumi Mizuno was cast at the last minute. (Although the character of Dayo was intended to be 19, Noriko's age at the time, Kumi was 29.)

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Goofs

Strings holding up various parts of the monsters, like Ebirah's claw, visible at parts.

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Quotes

Yoshimura: [he has just opened a giant safe-like door] I did it, it's unlocked! Hurry! Let's go inside!
Ichino: [everyone scrambles to go inside until they hear Ichino] Ow! Don't come in! It's a nuclear reactor!
Yoshimura: So that's it, it's a heavy water factory.
Nita: Huh? What can they do with that?
Yoshimura: Atom bombs are made with it.
Nita: Huh? I'm getting out of here!

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Crazy Credits

For the Columbia/Tri-Star U.S. DVD release, which uses the original uncut Japanese version, the English language credits list the noted composer Masaru Sato as "Mararu Sato."

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Alternate Versions

In the original Japanese version, there is rock music playing in the background as Godzilla is fighting the Red Bamboo air force. However, when the film was released in America, the music was deleted.

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Connections

Referenced in Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

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Soundtracks

Samashite Mosura
(Mothra Awake)
Written and Arranged by Masaru Satô
Performed by Pair Bambi

User Reviews

Ahhhh, Childhood

Indeed, this one takes me way back. I first saw this film on Disney Channels "Cool Nights" back in the late 90's. I recorded it on VHS and since then, I've rewatched it again and again. One part that I do like about the film is that it seems to delve right into the monsters, and that's something that any Godzilla fan can really appreciate. It's kinda weird though, soldiers who are apparently inherently evil are kidnapping natives of Mothra's island (who makes an extremely brief appearance in this film) and using them as slaves to grind fruits into a liquid. The soldiers use this liquid as a natural repellent against the Giant Lobster, Ebirah. To my knowledge, they never actually call it "Ebirah", they simply call it "the giant lobster". It contains a few interesting scenes not found in any other film. We have Godzilla fighting a Giant bird whose origin is unknown, and we also have a scene where a giant monster actually devours a person. It's really neat to see Godzilla fight underwater as well. I wouldn't put this as one of the top Godzilla films, but I would definitely say it's worth the watch.